The Portable Therapist: Wise and Inspiring Answers to the Questions People in Therapy Ask the Most... [Paperback]

Susanna McMahon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 10, 1994

Drawing from questions her patients ask most, the author teaches how to deal with the issues you car about. With compassion, wisdom and enlightening ideas, this book encourages you to be true to yourself, develop social interests and discover the positive, capable, confident human being you are meant to be.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Drawing from questions her patients ask most, the author teaches how to deal with the issues you car about. With compassion, wisdom and enlightening ideas, this book encourages you to be true to yourself, develop social interests and discover the positive, capable, confident human being you are meant to be.

From the Inside Flap

Drawing from questions her patients ask most, the author teaches how to deal with the issues you car about. With compassion, wisdom and enlightening ideas, this book encourages you to be true to yourself, develop social interests and discover the positive, capable, confident human being you are meant to be.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Dell (July 10, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440506034
• ISBN-13: 978-0440506034
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.6 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #236,505 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wise and useful little book, September 19, 2006

By 

Night Owl (Boston, Mass.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Portable Therapist: Wise and Inspiring Answers to the Questions People in Therapy Ask the Most... (Paperback)

It's a great, wise, simple, highly readable book.

Still, I cannot give it 5 stars because I found it at times a little simplistic -- probably a function of the book's restricitve format that keeps each chapter very short, and therefore generic and thus a little shallow. It's good reading for people who don't have time for big volumes and intellectually challenging explantions -- but at a price.

Things in life are often more ccomplicated than this book suggests. However, the priamry principle that it promotes (the crucial and necessary need for Self-Esteem that's not based on external factors) is very true. Kudos to the author for making it so clear. Any effort aiming to expose and undo the harm of most people's upbringing -- which overemphasizes high achievement and competitivenss while neglecting spiritual development -- is a valuable contribution to our culture.

I appreciated the author's effort to avoid references to God (she allows atheistic readers to replace the concept of God with the notion of Goodness) -- but then, alas, she forgot that rule in the last chapter. That last chapter was also rather disappointing in content, the weakest of all -- just a pep talk with no concrete advice.

Throughtout the book, the author ascribes the often harmful "Model of Doing" to the Western culture, and the more benficial "Model of Being" to the East -- but that is a simplification too. Anyone familiar with high-driving, competitive, and sometimes cruel Asian societies knows that the East is in the grips of the "Model of Doing" just as we are in the West. (One can also think of some western saints, like St.Francis, who were very much into a "Model of Being".)

Also, I am concerend that the author's often repeated advice to "take care of yourself first" will be interpreted by many people as a permission to be selfish and self-centerted. She certainly understands the difference (and attempts to explain it at one point) -- but in her apparent effort not to undermine any reader's Self-Esteem, she stops short of telling her readers that having no compassion for others, and never giving of yourself is not a way to live. She just says "accept yourslef as you are". Then why change for the better?

This book will be of only marginal value to people who are well read in psychology, but it will be very useful and eye-opening to an average person trying to come to terms with the pain of living. It's like Psychology 101 -- a basic course for everyone, but it doesn't have enough depth to satisfy those who need to probe for deeper reasons and solutions. Nevertheless, I highly recommend it as a first step towards mastering "the art of living".

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars possessive of my portable therapist, August 15, 2001

By 

sophie di pasquale (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Portable Therapist: Wise and Inspiring Answers to the Questions People in Therapy Ask the Most... (Paperback)

The Portable Therapist is my savior and my Bible! Before buying this book, I was a self-proclaimed self-help book junkie. I searched infinitely for something or someone that would tell me what I had to do to become a better version of myself (since the present version never seemed to measure up, no matter how hard I tried to make changes in my life). Now that I have The Portable Therapist, my search is over. I have no intention of writing a critical, intellectual assessment of this book. Rather, I will speak only from my heart and say that this book has allowed me to find peace and has taught me that I don't need to change in order to accept myself. I could prattle on and reveal all of the lessons I have learned; however, instead I will say that this book, weathered, wrinkled and bound together with masking tape, accompanies me to the bathroom, to bed, on the train to Grand Central, on every vacation. In fact, it is permanently locked inside my soul. Whenever I'm feeling less than scintillating, I hear McMahon's wise words echo in my head, reminding me that I am okay and that I have the courage to deal with whatever comes along. My only advice, and this will not be difficult to do, is to revisit her words incessantly, to have the courage to practice what is taught, and to share her wisdom with friends, who will find it as inspirational as you will. This book is genius.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Will change your life!, April 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Portable Therapist: Wise and Inspiring Answers to the Questions People in Therapy Ask the Most... (Paperback)

I normally shun self-help books, but found this on a friend's coffee table & couldn't put it down. In a clear, loving voice, the author answers some of life's most basic questions, empowering the reader to take responsibility for his/her behaviour, perceptions, and way of living. It inspires, enriches, and intrigues. A wealth of wisdom in every section, this book does not shy away from the tough problems we all face, nor does it wallow in psycho-babble or preachiness; there are also none of those boring case histories most books of this genre seem to have. A gem -- EVERYONE SHOULD OWN A COPY!